Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Matmata Underground Houses

Discover Matmata Underground Houses in Matmatat-Al-Qadimal, Tunisia: Made famous by "Star Wars," these troglodyte homes face an uncertain future.

Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary

Discover Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary in RajendraNarayanpur, India: More than 2 million Olive Ridley sea turtles are hatched from this mass nesting ground every year.

Saatse Boot

Discover Saatse Boot in Estonia: This peculiar border irregularity is the only way to legally enter Russia without a visa.

Anti-Saloon League Museum

Discover Anti-Saloon League Museum in Westerville, Ohio: Artifacts fill the old headquarters of the hugely influential political movement to ban alcohol in the United States.

Llanymynech

Discover Llanymynech in Llanymynech, England: A small village in two different countries.

Saved In The Nick Of Time

A gardener rescued a beloved clock face from destruction by building it into a wall outside his house.

Bridge to Nowhere

Discover Bridge to Nowhere in Dunbar, Scotland: At high tide this strange footbridge appears to have no purpose whatsoever.

Cuypers Library

Discover Cuypers Library in Amsterdam, Netherlands: This gorgeous reading room houses the oldest and largest art history library in the Netherlands.

Stumbling Stones of Rome

Discover Stumbling Stones of Rome in Rome, Italy: Brass cobblestones mark the places where individual Holocaust victims were taken from their homes.

Lompoc Valley Drive-In

Discover Lompoc Valley Drive-In in Lompoc, California: With its peeling paint and faded sign, this theater-turned-recycling plant is a nostalgic relic of 1950s Americana.

Giant Lady Legs of Henderson

Discover Giant Lady Legs of Henderson in Henderson, North Carolina: The largest legs you'll ever see on a country road in North Carolina.

Grave of George Swanson

Discover Grave of George Swanson in Irwin, Pennsylvania: True to his word, George Swanson is buried in his white 1984 Corvette.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 261 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 480 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 514 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 642 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 137 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 172 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 256 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 151 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 98 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 168

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